PROVO — BYU has added a quarterback from the transfer portal after all.

After going through spring practices with three quarterbacks — and a former Utah high school standout on the way — the Cougars earned a commitment from a former four-star recruit and Stanford freshman transfer Saturday morning.

Bear Bachmeier has committed to Brigham Young, he told ESPN. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound signal caller from Murrieta, California, comes to BYU with all of his eligibility remaining after initially signing with Stanford as part of the 2025 class.

"The ability to come in and win games, and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick's scheme and the pedigree of quarterbacks they have produced in history and recently is enticing," Bachmeier told ESPN.

Bachmeier joins a pair of tight end commitments, a former Snow College standout wide receiver, and a defensive tackle from Oklahoma State returning to his home state in committing to BYU during the spring portal window.

Bachmeier, whose older brother, Hank, played at Boise State and Wake Forest, was a highly recruited quarterback out of Murrieta Valley High.

The younger Bachmeier was a four-star recruit by On3 and Rivals, and ranked as high as the No. 11 quarterback nationally by ESPN after totaling 6,463 yards with 56 touchdowns and 30 more rushing scores in his high school career.

BYU recruited him — as did Georgia, Oregon, Notre Dame, Alabama, Colorado, Miami and others — before Bachmeier ultimately committed to Stanford and joined his older brother Tiger at Stanford.

But when Stanford fired coach Troy Taylor and brought in interim coach Frank Reich, the duo both put their names in the transfer portal. The two aren't necessarily considered a package deal for their next stop.

Still, both visited BYU this weekend, with Bear Bachmeier — noticeably quiet on social media — even posting a photo on his X account from LaVell Edwards Stadium.

A few hours later, Tiger Bachmeier also committed to the Cougars, he told ESPN later Saturday evening, after graduating from Stanford with a degree in computer science in two-and-a-half years.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound pass catcher was Stanford's primary kickoff and punt returner as a sophomore, when he also caught 10 passes for 67 yards on offense. Tiger Bachmeier was the Cardinal's outstanding freshman in 2023, when he started seven of 12 games and led the Pac-12 in receptions and receiving yards by a true freshman with 36 catches for 409 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

By the end of the day, the Cougars nabbed a commitment from two Bachmeiers: one who fills in immediate need following the departure of wide receiver and All-American kick returner Keelan Marion, and his former four-star quarterback brother who joins incumbent starter Jake Retzlaff, a fifth-year senior, and backups McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet in the quarterback room.

Retzlaff, of course, is the unquestioned leader of the group as a returning starter who completed 57.9% of his passes for 2,947 yards and 20 touchdowns with 12 interceptions and another six rushing scores during the Cougars' 11-2 campaign that finished with a No. 13 national ranking. Beyond that, there has been — and will continue to be — competition, as Roderick noted at the conclusion of spring ball.

"We really like our team right now, and we're not desperate to go find somebody; there's no 'position of need' where we have to have somebody right now," Roderick said at the close of spring practices. "But we'll never turn away a player that we think can make a difference. We're open to players that make us better."

Former Bountiful standout Emerson Geilman is expected to join the Cougars in the fall prior to serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Hillstead, a 5-foot-10 former standout at nearby Skyridge High in Lehi who started portions of his freshman season at Utah State, will be a redshirt sophomore in the fall. Bourguet, a 6-foot-2 Tucson native who transferred from Western Michigan, will be a redshirt junior.

"I think we could win a game with either one of them; I don't know which one that would be yet," Roderick said of the backups. "They've both had more good days than bad, and I think they're both good players."

Related

BYU spring transfer portal tracker

Announcements of players entering the NCAA transfer portal began once the spring window opened April 16. Here's a running list of those announced intentions of athletes moving on from the university.

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